1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the production of aqueous solutions of alkali metal, alkaline-earth or ammonium salts of surface-active hydroxysulfonates from unsaturated C.sub.16 -C.sub.22 fatty alcohols and alkoxylates thereof by sulfonation of esters of lower alkanoic acids of these alcohols and ethyoxylates, and hydrolysis of the sultone and ester groups.
On reaction with sulfur trioxide, unsaturated fatty alcohols and alkoxylation products thereof are both sulfonated at the double bond and also sulfatized at the hydroxyl group. Since sulfonate surfactants show high stability to hydrolysis while sulfate surfactants are readily hydrolyzed in acidic aqueous medium, the problem existed of producing uniform surfactants free from sulfate ester groups and stable to hydrolysis from unsaturated fatty alcohols and alkoxylates thereof.
2. Discussion of Related Art
It has already been proposed in German Patent application 33 31 513 to produce hydrolysis-stable ether sulfonates by sulfonation of the lower alkyl esters of unsaturated fatty alcohols and fatty alcohol polyalkylene glycol ethers. An even simpler process for the production of sulfonate surfactants from unsaturated fatty alcohols has now been found.